By Sean Dickson and Tyler Kent November 15, 2021 This study aimed to characterize the nature of price competition among brand-name and generic drugs under Medicare Part B and to estimate the cost savings to the program of subjecting biologic and biosimilar therapies to a similar price competition. PLEASE READ THE FULL STUDY ON JAMANETWORK.COM
By Shelley Lyford October 31, 2021 As part of a revised framework for the Build Back Better Act now under intense negotiations in Congress, President Joe Biden proposed $150 billion in federal funding for the nation’s home- and community-based services (HCBS) infrastructure, a far cry from the $400 billion the President first proposed back in the spring. While the dollars… Read more »
By Shelley Lyford September 30, 2021 Congress has the best chance in over a decade to deliver on longstanding promises to lower prescription drug prices as part of a reconciliation bill designed to strengthen health care for seniors and shore up our economy and infrastructure. One of the most important components of this legislation is… Read more »
By Rena Smith September 22, 2021 Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the high number of deaths among long-term care facility residents rightfully prompted our country to rethink how we care for older adults with chronic illnesses and disabilities. Now, 90 percent of seniors and their families want care options that allow them to safely age… Read more »
By Sean Dickson In what could be a turning point in the prescription drug debate, President Biden has made clear that the health crisis of unaffordable medications must end. In a speech he gave in the East Room of the White House in August, the president shared how he and his siblings had to chip… Read more »
By Sean Dickson and Amy Killelea As Congress continues its attention to pharmaceutical development and prices, the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance’s Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth has called for a hearing entitled “Promoting Domestic Competition and International Competitiveness.” The Subcommittee has invited Gilead Sciences CEO, Daniel O’Day to testify about the current… Read more »
By Sean Dickson, Amy Killelea, Richard G. Frank Today, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) will announce a decision on whether to approve the biologic aducanumab, intended to alleviate symptoms in patients with Alzheimer’s Disease. Currently, more than 6 million Americans over the age of 65 are living with Alzheimer’s Disease. As the US population… Read more »
By Timothy Lash As the United States passes the grim and staggering milestone of 500,000 deaths from COVID-19, there is increasing hope that vaccines may soon help us reduce this deadly threat and put us on a path to some level of normalcy. But that path to vaccination (at least for now) is filled with… Read more »
West Health’s CEO, Shelley Lyford, describes our unique approach to the mission of successful aging. For West Health, addressing the needs of seniors isn’t simply a fiscal and political priority – it’s a moral imperative. Each of our separate entities works together in pursuit of our successful aging mission. Our Institute ensures that our Foundation’s grant-making… Read more »
September 11, 2020 Sean Dickson, JD, MPH1 JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(9):e2016388. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.16388 Policy makers have proposed levying penalties for drug price increases that are higher than the rate of inflation for drugs covered in the US Medicare program, but research is lacking regarding the ways in which manufacturers might respond to those penalties…. Read more »
